DIY: lamp for $9.99

This lamp underwent a dramatic transformation and cost less than $10. Back when I was doing a segment on CBC TV called, "Deb on a Dime", I was always looking for affordable and stylish DIY ideas. You can create some great looking lighting if you think outside the box and are willing to get your hands dirty. I picked up a pair of these lamps at a second hand store for $4.99 each. I liked them right away because of the shape and size. I used white primer spray paint to cover the colour and pattern, this gave them a perfect matte white finish. Here I am getting ready to spray:

Then I was able to pick up two shades in an 'as is' section of a big box store; each shade was $5.00, for a grand total of $9.99 for each lamp. I think they look pretty good considering the price tag.

Here's how the second lamp looked on the other end of the room.

Before & After: dining room

This image above of a dining room (and the kitchen in the background), is an old shot  from my last home in Toronto. Naturally, I embarked on a huge renovation in this house. I just happened to come across these "before" pictures, and I had to share them. I removed a wall between the kitchen and dining room, so the wall in the "before" is the one on the left that was removed. Oh how I love to renovate!

today we're on thekitchn.com

Excited to see my Chester cottage kitchen reno featured on thekitchn.com (of Apartment Therapy) today. This was an easy, inexpensive kitchen update that really just involved taking down a wall and a lot of white paint.  Other than the wall coming down (with proper support beams added to the ceiling).  I was able to do the rest of  the work else myself.  Be sure to check it out here:  http://www.thekitchn.com/kitchen-before-after-a-rundown-cottage-kitchen-gets-a-little-charm-reader-kitchen-remodel-206561 And the original blog post about the kitchen progress is here:  http://www.debnelsondesign.com/?p=1350

A room transformed with paint: before and after

I'm a huge fan of paint as the most affordable way to drastically change a room.  I'm always talking about 'paint makeovers' and how much you can do with paint.  Hopefully these pictures back up my claim. The living room shown above is the same room as you see below, but with furniture.  I wanted to show how it looked without any furnishings and decor.  This way you can really get an idea of how the paint changed the room.

It was also very affordable, I did all the work myself, so my only cost was paint.  I personally removed the carpet and old drapery (in a day) and then painted the walls,  ceiling, trim and fireplace in white and the floors in gloss black.  At that time you could still buy oil paint, so I put black oil paint on the floors that stood up pretty well over time.  The floor paint was smelly and needed a couple coats with a day to dry for each.  Over time, the floor paint did chip in places here and there (mostly because I would drag furniture across it).  I did consider a lighter colour paint on the floor but at the time I wanted the contrast of black.

Here's how the room looked when I bought the house, with wall to wall carpet.  BEFORE:

And the empty painted room and fireplace: AFTER:

JULY 2014 HOUSE & HOME MAGAZINE

Be sure to check out the July issue of House & Home magazine!  I’m so excited and thrilled to be on the pages of the Summer Living issue.  The article is called, “A Shore Thing”, starting on page 80.  I will post more on the house and the renovation in the coming weeks.